Folding camp-stool



H. G. D'ALE. FOLDING CAMP STOOL. ABLPLICATION FILED Aue.14, 1918.

Patented I 2 1920- HORACE G. DALE, OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS.

FOLDING CAMP-STOOL.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

Application filedAugust 14, 1918. SeriaiNo. 249,880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Home}; Gr. DALE, acitizen of the United States, residing at Little Rock, in the county ofPulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Folding Camp-Stools, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to camp stools, and particularly to certainimprovements in the camp stool illustrated in the patent granted January1st, 1901, No. 664,976, to Sheffy and Burnap.

Specifically, the objects of my invention are to improve upon the campstool illustrated in said patent by so constructing the stool that asquare canvas seat may be used in place of a triangular seat of canvas,as illustrated, to improve the means whereby the legs of the stool areconnected to the seat, to improve the means whereby the legs are held incrossed relation and whereby they are urged into divergent relation butpermitted to move into parallel relation, and to provide improved meansfor flexiblyconnecting the lower ends of the pairs of legs to eachother.

Other objects have to do with improve ments in certain details ofconstruction, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure1 is a perspective view of a stool constructed in accordance with myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the annuli 16 and 17 and theadjacent portions of the legs, the annuli being broken away;

8 is a like view to Fig. 2, but showing the legs in parallel relation;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of the annuli;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in section, of the attachingmember 11;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary underside plan view of the seat and theattaching member; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the stool folded.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that my improved camp stoolcomprises a seat 10, which is square and formed of canvas or, other likesuitable material and having attached to its corners the strips orplates 11 having ears 12 and the perforations 13 on each end of thestrip whereby the strips may be attached to the canvas seat by sewing orlike means, these strips being disposed radially to the center of theseat.

Hingedly connected to the ears 12 are the legs 14. Each of these legs atits upper end is reduced in thickness as at 15 so as to be insertedbetween the cars 12 and pierced for the passage of a rivet or bolt. Eachof these legs at its lower edge is also reduced in thickness and piercedfor the attachment of the connecting strips, as will be later stated.The legs pass through a pair of annuli 16 and 17. These annuli. arehollow, that is, each annulus has a web and a pcripheral flange, theflanges of the annulus confronting each other. Disposed through theannuli is a pivot pin or shaft 18 to which the uppermost annulus isfast. The lowermost annulus is rotatable upon this pin or shaft 18. Theannuli are both formed with circular apertures 19 arranged in quarteringrelation and mounted upon the member 18, by being coiled thereon, is acoiled torsion spring 20 having two arms or branches 21 which extendinto the web of the annulus 17. The tension of this spring acts to urgethe annulus 17 into a position with relation to the annulus 16 where theholes 19 of both annuli register. There is suflicient play between theholes 19 and the legs 14 as to permit the legs to take an inclinedposition with' relation to the web of the annuli and preferably theseapertures 19 are elliptical in form.

Now if the annuli be turned so as to bring their holes in registry witheach other and the legs 14 be disposed through these holes, it will beobvious that the legs will be held in parallel relation to each other,as illustrated in Fig. 8, but upon a release of the legs, the spring 20will act to turn the annulus 17 in a direction to carry its apertures 19out of re istry with the apertures 19 of the annulus 16 and the legswill be thrown into diagonally related positions which will act tospread the canvas of the seat and the lower ends of the legs intoquartering rela tion.

The lower ends of the legs are connected by means of tension straps 22,four in number, which may be made ofmetal or any other like material.The inner ends of all of said straps are turned at right angles to thebody of the strap and pierced for a connecting ring 23, while the outerends of the straps are rebent and slotted to receive the lower ends ofthe legs, the rebent portion forming a bead 2% for the reception of apintle 25 which may be in the form of a bolt or rivet. It will be notedthat inasmuch as there are four legs, there are four of these tensionstraps and that when the camp stool is folded up, these straps will foldup within the space defined by the four legs of the stool. Inasmuch asthese straps 22 are stiff, being made of metal or like material, theywill, when the straps are in the position shown in Fig, 1, not onlyprevent the outward movement of the legs under the weight on the seat,but will also tend to prevent any accidental inward movement of thelegs, unless the ring 23 is positively lifted. This would not be thecase were these straps 22 of flexible material, such as webbing orleather.

The legs are preferably made of 9; round spring steel and the wholestool when folded weighs about one pound and eight ounces and willsupport the weight of a 275 pound man. At the same time the stool may befolded into a Very compact package for easy transportation. The steel isrendered particularly strong by reason of the additional leg and it willbe noted that the hinged a tachment of the canvas seat 10 to the legthrough the pieces 11 permits the canvas seat to take any desired anglewith relation to the leg and thus conform to the person. A square seatis obviously much more comfortable than a triangular seat can possiblybe.

I claim A camp stool of the character described having supporting meansincluding an upper and a lower annulus having peripheral confrontingflanges, an axial member attached to the inside face of the upperannulus and extending downward through the lower annulus and forming anaxis therefor, said annuli having a plurality of elongated aperturesadjacent their margins, a plurality of legs each passing through a pairof said apertures and formed with enlarged portions between the anuliwhereby upon a rotation of one annulus relative to the other the legswill be turned into or out of parallel relation to each other, springsattached to the downwardly projecting, axial member below the lowerannulus, said springs being wrapped around the axial member in the samedirection and in parallel coils, and the springs being laterally bent toform two arms connected with diametrically opposite points of the lowerannulus, and means limiting the divergence of the legs but permit tingthe legs to be folded into an approximately parallel position, saidmeans, when the legs are in angular relation, impeding the inwardmovement of the legs toward each other and into parallel relation.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses. HORACE G. DALE. Witnesses:

A. Ln'rzKUs, IRENE HAWKINS.

